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With the million and two holiday recipe options floating around every year, sometimes you just need one go-to that is pretty much always guaranteed to taste great and be a crowd pleaser. I bring you…the chocolate chip cookie. It’s easy, it makes a decent sized bunch, it isn’t super fancy, and hell, who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies?

I would love to say this recipe has been in my family for generations (because well, my grandma does in fact use this recipe), however I shall not tell a lie. It is taken from the cookie extraordinaires themselves, Toll House. And well, why fool with something that’s already so good? I present you…the classics:

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

I sometimes like to add things like white chocolate chips and dried cranberries , or coconut flakes to this recipe instead…the base is great for any amazing cookie! I’m giving some to my coworkers as gifts this year…hopefully they’ll like them as much as I do 🙂

So after a weekend beach trip that led to a last minute pit stop at a Delaware farm stand, I somehow ended up with a refrigerator full of zucchini. For a week I had it baked, broiled, roasted, toasted, and caked, and I somehow still had some of this veggie left. Before I threw in the towel and forced the food upon my roommates, I realized that despite my weeklong zucchini fest, I still forgot to make my favorite recipe with it: zucchini bread. For those of you who now think I’m crazy, it’s kind of the same concept as banana bread, except you don’t really taste it. It just turns out into this moist yummy breakfasty bread that you will gobble up. Because seriously, this stuff is amazing. Chocolate is theoretically optional in this recipe (and its actually quite good without any chocolate), but who sees chocolate as optional??

Enjoy!

xo SA

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

Ingredients

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2/3 cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with a knife

Place the butter in a large microwave-safe mixing bowl and microwave for one minute, or until just melted. Stir in the brown sugar until completely smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until incorporated. (Be sure to add the eggs after the brown sugar is mixed in, as the hot butter alone could cook the eggs.)

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add to the butter mixture and stir until well combined. It will be very thick.

Stir in the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips. (It will still be thick — that’s okay.)

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean (save for perhaps a smear from the melted chocolate chips). Let the loaf cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

I’ve been dying to do a little baking lately, and I figured a Sunday afternoon would be perfect. Would’ve been better if it was a lazy Sunday afternoon, but alas, busy day or not, baking was completed. As you may have noticed at one of our earlier posts, I like to use locally made jams/preserves in my baking/drinks/cooking…anything, really. Maybe it’s because I for some reason have so many of them? Regardless, expect to see more of these in the future. Next time potentially with a rose petal cake. If anyone has suggestions for things to do with rose petal jam, please leave them in the comments. I’d love to get ideas!

Meanwhile, today’s baking! I was in the mood for thumbprint cookies, and had marmalade lying around. Switched out plain marmalade for lemon, and amped up the cookies with some cinnamon, and we were in business!

My roomies gobbled about a half dozen of them up already. It’s still summery, but I think the cinnamon brings it to be a bit more of a fall-transition cookie (not just applicable to wardrobes! 😉 haha)
Check it out below and let me know what you think.

Cream together the butter and sugar, then slowly add the other ingredients (minus the marmalade). Once all mixed, place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Bake the cookies at 350`F for 8 minutes and then take them out of the oven. Make a thumbprint in the middle of each cookie and place a small dollop of marmalade. Then place back into the oven for another 5-7 minutes, or until the cookie is done.